The close proximity of the major arteries and veins allows countercurrent heat exchange between them. Cold blood that flows in veins from a cooled hand toward the heart takes up heat from adjacent arteries; this warms the venous blood and cools the arterial blood. Heat exchange takes place in the opposite direction when the extremity is exposed to heat. Thus heat conservation is enhanced during exposure of extremities to cold environments, and heat conservation is minimized during exposure of the extremities to warm environments.
Skin Color: Relationship to Skin Blood Volume, Oxyhemoglobin, and Blood Flow
Skin color is determined mainly by the pigment content. However, the degree of pallor or ruddiness is mainly a function of the amount of blood in the skin, except when the skin is very dark. With little blood in the venous plexus, the skin appears pale, whereas with moderate to large quantities of blood in the venous plexus, the skin displays a color. This color may be red, blue, or some shade between, depending
CHAPTER 17 Properties of the Vasculature on the degree of oxygenation of the blood. A combination of vasoconstriction and reduced hemoglobin can impart an ashen gray color to the skin. A combination of venous engorgement and reduced hemoglobin content can impart a dark purple hue.
Skin color provides little information about the rate of cutaneous blood flow. Rapid blood flow may be accompanied by skin pallor when the AV anastomoses are open, and slow blood flow may be associated with skin ruddiness when the skin is exposed to cold.
The rate of blood flow in skeletal muscle varies directly with the contractile activity of the tissue and the type of muscle. Blood flow and capillary density are greater in red muscle (slow-twitch muscle with high oxidative capacity) than in white muscle (fast-twitch muscle with low oxidative capacity). In resting muscle, the precapillary arterioles contract and relax intermittently. Thus at any given moment, most of the capillary bed is not perfused, and total blood flow through quiescent skeletal muscle is low (1.4 to 4.5 mL/ minute/100 g). During exercise, the resistance vessels relax, and muscle blood flow may increase to 15 to 20 times the resting level, depending on the intensity of the exercise.
Regulation of Skeletal Muscle Blood Flow
Neural and local factors regulate muscle circulation. Physical factors such as Pa, tissue pressure, and blood viscosity influence muscle blood flow. However, another physical factor, the squeezing effect of the active skeletal muscle, affects blood flow in the vessels. With intermittent contractions, inflow is restricted, and as previously described, venous outflow is enhanced. The venous valves prevent backward flow of blood between contractions and thereby aid in the forward propulsion of blood. With strong sustained contractions, as occur during exercise, the vascular bed can be compressed to the point at which blood flow actually ceases temporarily.
The resistance vessels of muscle possess a high degree of basal tone; they also display tone in response to continuous low-frequency activity in the sympathetic vasoconstrictor nerve fibers. The basal firing frequency of sympathetic vasoconstrictor fibers is only approximately 1 to 2 per second, and maximal vasoconstriction occurs at frequencies of approximately 10 per second.
Vasoconstriction evoked by sympathetic nerve activity is caused by the local release of norepinephrine. Intra-arterially injected norepinephrine elicits only vasoconstriction (α1adrenergic receptor). In contrast, low doses of epinephrine produce vasodilation (β2-adrenergic receptor), whereas large doses cause vasoconstriction.
Baroreceptor reflexes greatly influence the tonic activity of the sympathetic nerves. An increase in carotid sinus pressure causes the muscle vascular bed to dilate, whereas a decrease in carotid sinus pressure elicits vasoconstriction (